Pinoy teens, young children getting HIV

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino teenagers and children are getting infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) too, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

In its latest HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines, the agency reported that 86 Filipinos – aged 19 years and below – were diagnosed with HIV in January 2023.

“There were 79 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old, and seven children less than 10 years old,” the report revealed.

Except for one case that lacks data on the mode of transmission, all 78 adolescents acquired the infection through sexual contact.

Of the 78 HIV-infected adolescents, 65 acquired the infection through male-to-male sex, eight through sex with both males and females, and five through male-to-female sex.

By age bracket, the DOH said 57 (72 percent of the cases) were 18 to 19 years old, 20 (25 percent) were 15 to 17 years old, and two (three percent) were only between 10 to 14 years old.

The DOH previously reported a total of 1,454 new HIV cases for January 2023. The figure indicates an average of 46 new HIV cases are reported each day.

In 2022, the DOH reported a 21 percent increase in the number of new HIV cases compared to the previous year.